As I write this in late October, hopes are still high for a few more nice and productive open-water fishing days this season. However, the late fall weather could turn and the lakes ice over any day now. With that in mind, now is a good time to look back and reflect on the past year and lessons learned on the water that could lead to more fish in the boat in the future. Here are some things that quickly come to mind from 2018, things that this angler will keep in mind moving forward!
Things change for whatever reason . . .
Those of us who love the outdoors rely on patterns – things that typically happen at particular times – that help us predict what fish and game will do in an effort to maximize our chances for fishing and hunting success.
While patterns are reliable at times, sometimes the fish do what they want to do regardless of what the “pattern” says they should do. A case in point comes to mind from this past season and involved walleyes and an episode of Fishing the Midwest TV that a fishing partner and I were trying to film.
We located three schools of walleyes relating to main lake structure that were eager to hit our live bait rigs the day before the scheduled shoot. The next day with cameras on board, under very similar weather conditions, we were only able to get a few of the live bait, structure fish to bite.
Mid-day and with several fish still needed, we made a switch to a basin area and began trolling Lucky Shad crankbaits on lead-core line in deeper water. This open water trolling pattern had produced only a few small fish the day before. On this day, however, three of our first four fish were over 20” and we wrapped up the shoot that afternoon.
Why did the structure fish shut down and the trolling fish “grow up”? I’m not sure, but the lesson from that day was the importance of keeping an open mind and being willing to change fishing locations and methods when what you are currently doing isn’t working.
While sometimes change doesn’t improve fishing results, sometimes it does and this particular day it did!
Clear, clear waters
Last year at this time, I believe I wrote about the prevalence of clearing waters being encountered in many lakes, largely due to zebra mussels.
This trend certainly continues as more and more waters are found to be “infested” and the water continues to get clearer and clearer, meaning we as anglers must adapt.
The biggest change that I am seeing relating to zebra mussels and clear water involves the depths various fish species are now being found at.
In the past, I’ve written about how much of my walleye fishing now occurs in deeper waters and that continues to be true. This year, I also saw that trend continue with much of my bass fishing as well.
Deep weedlines – a common holding spot for largemouth bass – now grow out to 20-plus feet of water in several lakes I fish, and that has resulted in at least some largemouth living in those deeper weeds. Smallmouth bass that I used to find on tops of rocky humps in 8- to 12- feet are now more often found deeper too, often on the deeper edges of these humps, or on humps located in deeper water altogether.
While these deeper fish are often still often cooperative biters, keeping this “deeper trend” in mind certainly is beneficial when searching for fish.
If searching for and catching more fish in the future is one of your goals, the lessons provided by the fish this past year and shared above may help you do just that!
As always, good luck on the water and ice and remember to include a youngster in your next outdoors adventure!
Mike Frisch is host of the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series. Visit www.fishingthemidwest.com or follow Fishing the Midwest on Facebook for more “fishy” stuff.